I feel your presence everywhere.

You linger in the hallway when it’s filled with the smell of coffee in the morning.

You linger on winter nights when the cold air is bitter

And rain is coming down,

In the feeling of entering a warm house after being out in the storm.

You linger in melodies and harmonies and candlelight,

In book passages read,

Flowers picked,

Rivers visited.

You linger in friends’ hugs,

Evenings filled with soft laughter,

And eyes sparkling with love and warmth so strong.   

You linger in autumn winds and colorful leaves,

In Halloween nights, after school pickups,

And city skylines as day comes to a close.

You linger in banana bread baking,

In tea boiling on the stove,

In the colors of a new paint set

And sunspots sitting on the walls in mid-afternoon.

You seem to follow me wherever I am,

Appearing at random.

Even at times when I am not seeking you out, 

Your presence is found in every thing and every place:

a pleasant surprise some days, and

an ache for the heart, a horrible haunting,  

on others. 

You will always be around me,

lingering...

And yet you are always and forever 

so terribly out of reach.